


The Starting Line

by Enigmaforum



Series: Incipimus iterum (Begin Again) [3]
Category: The Mandalorian (TV)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-12-16
Updated: 2019-12-26
Packaged: 2021-02-25 22:27:48
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,292
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21812938
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Enigmaforum/pseuds/Enigmaforum
Summary: It's time she became the teacher.
Series: Incipimus iterum (Begin Again) [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1562716
Comments: 3
Kudos: 25





	1. Lesson One

**Author's Note:**

> This series has taken over my thoughts.

She was grateful as both she and Winta dashed into their hut to escape the rain had broken up the village dinner. She normally enjoyed the act of sharing a meal with everyone tonight one of the single men of the village had made his interest in her more than obvious.

An interest she did not return in any way shape or form and was something the man clearly had not understood from her repeated attempts to be polite yet un-engaged.

The rainstorm had thankfully caused an interruption in his attempts as they’d all had to flee to their respective homes and would give her more time to figure out a more direct approach.

She was almost sorry that she’d lost her knives on Endor. 

“Mama do you think we’ll be able to go back out tonight?”

“I don’t think so,” she said as the door closed and they both raced around to close the windows up tight. “Even if the rain stops it’ll be too muddy to do much walking.”

“Oh,” Winta sighed.

“I can think of something we can do though,” Omera said as she grabbed a spare blanket from her bed and spread it on floor before she lit two lamps and set them on either side and sat down. She carefully pulled one of the blasters from her side, ensured it was turned off and set it down in front of her. Winta stared at it and her with wide eyes before she sat across from her.

“My lessons?”

“If you’re ready,” Omera responded. “Do you remember what we talked about the night I showed them to you?”

“Yes mama,” Winta nodded. “I can’t use them until you say I’m ready.”

“And you can’t tell anyone in the village what we’re doing,” she added.

“Why not?”

“It would invite questions,” Omera responded. She had thought about offering to teach the others but after careful consideration she chose to keep it to herself. They would ask questions and the answers could prove dangerous to Cara, the child, and him if they got into the wrong ears. “And we have to do what we can to keep them safe.”

“Yes mama.”

“I also want to start teaching you something else,” she said as she began to strip the weapon. “And like the blasters this is only something you can practice with me.”

“What do you want me to learn?”

“Code,” she responded as she laid each piece between them. When her hands were free she reached into her tunic and pulled out the comm unit. “When he left me the blasters he also left me this.”

“We can contact them?!”

“Yes,” Omera held a hand up to quell her child’s excitement. “Both he and Cara left me with a way but we can’t send messages often.”

“To keep them from being found?”

“Yes,” she nodded, pleased with what her daughter had started to pick up on. “And when we do send them a message it needs to be careful. So I’m going to teach you a version of the rebel code from the war. If I can’t send the message out you need to be able to call for help.”

There was silence between them for a few minutes before Winta reached out and grabbed a piece of the weapon.

“Teach me.”


	2. Lesson Two

“Again.”

Winta nodded and looked at her mother as she started the timer once more.

“Begin.”

She smiled as she watched her daughter ruthlessly strip her weapon down. They’d been practicing every night for two weeks and Winta had proven to be a determined student who took to her instruction like a duckling to water. She had an aptitude for a blaster and she was already thinking of trying to bargain for a small blade the next time she was in town in order to broaden her education.

“Reassemble.”

She thought about sending a message asking what his thoughts were on the matter because she knew he would have them but she knew it didn’t warrant a comm. She’d meant what she told Winta on the night she’d shown her the unit; they had to be careful about what and how often messages were sent and it took every fiber of her self-restraint to listen to her own damn rules.

“Done!”

Winta had thrown her hands up in victory as she stopped the timer and gave her an encouraging nod.

“Well?”

“One second.”

She picked the blaster up from where it laid, now fully reassembled and inspected her daughter’s handiwork.

“Perfect,” she said after a minute as she settled the weapon at her hip and opened her arms for her daughter’s enthusiastic hug. “I’m so proud of you.”

She kissed the top of her head before she released her.

“Am I ready to learn how to shoot?”

“We can start looking for a suitable place in the morning,” she promised. “But for now it’s time for bed little one. Get changed and I’ll clean this up.”

“Yes mama.”

She folded the blanket and placed the lanterns back by the door before she turned to tuck her child into bed.

“Can I ask you a question mama?”

“Always,” Omera said as she pulled the covers up to Winta’s chin.

“You learned how to do this in the war didn’t you?”

Omera breathed. She had expected the questions to come at some point and she’d already resolved to be nothing but truthful with her daughter. She couldn’t expect trust if she didn’t return it in kind.

“I did,” she responded. “I was a soldier in the rebellion. I often found myself working with the pathfinders.”

“Can you tell me about it?”

“Of course,” she smiled as she brushed Winta’s hair out of her face. “What would you like to know?”

“Is that where you met my father?”

“It is actually,” she laughed. “You know he actually almost ran me over with his ship the first time we met?”

“He did?” she giggled. “But you always said he was a good pilot!”

“He was!” she promised “But the rebellions equipment wasn’t always in the best shape and something happened to his brakes when he came in to land from a training flight. I had to dive out of the way and almost took out a Wookie in the process.”

“Mama.”

“I was ready to slap the man but then he stepped out of his plane and-”

She felt her cheeks warm at the thought of him, he’d looked so apologetic and worried that all the anger had died on her tongue only to be replaced with a bashfulness she had only recently felt again.

“And what mama?”

“He apologized, profusely, to both me and the Wookie and ended up buying us both a drink later that night.”

“And the rest was history?”

“It was,” she nodded. “You know you have his smile?”

“I do?” Winta yawned.

“You do,” she said. “I see so much of him when I look at you.”

“Will you tell me more?”

“Tomorrow, when we’re looking for our training spot,” she promised. “Now get some sleep. I love you.”

“Love you mama.”

She smoothed the covers out once more before she made her way to her own bunk. There was an ache in her heart at the thought of him but it didn’t threaten to shatter her anymore. Winta was the best of both of them and she was forever grateful that he had left her with a piece of himself.

She knew he’d be happy to see her teaching Winta now. They’d always talked about what they could teach her when the war ended. He hadn’t gotten the chance but she would do it now.

She was sorry she had waited so long to do it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you as always for reading!

**Author's Note:**

> Turning this part of the series into a bit of a multi-chapter.
> 
> Thank you for reading!


End file.
